System and method for selecting a transmission channel in a wireless communication system that includes an adaptive array

• US 8,036,164 B1
• Filed: 07/17/2006
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Winters, Jack H., Sollenberger, Nelson R., Chuang, Justin C.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US11/457,946
• Time in Patent Office: 1,912 Days
• Field of Search: 370389-477, 370203-352, 375316-362, 375140-148, 455 63- 69, 455561-562, 455442-450
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0632 Channel quality parameters, e.g. channel quality indicator [CQI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/08 at the receiving station
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0805 with single receiver and antenna switching H04B7/0822 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/084 Equal gain combining, only phase adjustments antenna beam scanning or forming by phase or amplitude control H01Q3/26, e.g. phased arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0857 using maximum ratio combining techniques, e.g. signal-to- interference ratio [SIR], received signal strenght indication [RSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/54 based on quality criteria

Abstract

A method for establishing wireless communication between a transmitter and a receiver in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The receiver includes an adaptive array that has at least two antennas. Each antenna receives a signal and produces a received signal. The transmitter includes at least two transmission channels for communicating the signal from the transmitter to the receiver. The wireless communication system suppresses interference at the receiver by applying an interference suppression technique when combining the received signals. The selection of a channel at the transmitter is based on the channel performance at the receiver for each transmission channel. The channel performance is based on a combining technique different from the interference suppression technique.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling a communication system to select a channel, the instructions causing the communication system to perform steps comprising:

communicating a signal from a transmitter having at least two transmission channels to a receiver;

at the receiver, producing from a received signal at least two received signals, the receiver having an adaptive array with at least two antennas to receive the received signal;

suppressing interference at the receiver by applying an interference suppression technique that includes minimum mean square error combining when combining said at least two received signals; and

selecting a channel at the transmitter based on channel performance at the receiver for each of said at least two transmission channels, the channel performance based on a combining technique that includes switched diversity combining and that is different from the interference suppression technique.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the receiver communicates with at least two transmitters.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a mobile terminal and the receiver is a base station.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a base station and the receiver is a mobile terminal.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the combining technique further includes maximum ratio combining.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the combining technique further includes diversity combining.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the combining technique further includes equal gain combining.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling communication between a transmitter and a receiver to select a transmission channel, the instructions comprising:

communicating a signal from the transmitter to the receiver, the transmitter having at least two transmission channels;

receiving the signal at a receiver having an adaptive array, the adaptive array having at least two antennas to receive the signal and produce at least two received signals;

suppressing interference at the receiver by applying an interference suppression technique that includes minimum mean square error combining when combining said at least two received signals; and

selecting the transmission channel at the transmitter based on channel performance at the receiver for each of said at least two transmission channels, channel performance based on a combining technique that includes switched diversity combining and that is different from the interference suppression technique.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the receiver communicates with at least two transmitters.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the transmitter is a mobile terminal and the receiver is a base station.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the transmitter is a base station and the receiver is a mobile terminal.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the combining technique further includes maximum ratio combining.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the combining technique further includes selection diversity combining.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the combining technique further includes equal gain combining.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for controlling a receiver in a wireless communication system to select a channel, the receiver having an adaptive array comprising at least two antennas to receive a signal from a transmitter having at least two transmission channels and to produce at least two received signals, the instructions causing the receiver to perform steps comprising:

suppressing interference by applying an interference suppression technique that includes minimum mean square error combining when combining the at least two received signals; and

selecting a channel at the transmitter based on channel performance at the receiver for each of at least two transmission channels, the channel performance based on a combining technique that includes switched diversity combining and that is different from the interference suppression technique.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for operating a transmitter having at least two transmission channels in a wireless communication system to communicate with a receiver, the transmitter communicating with the receiver having an adaptive array having at least two antennas to receive the signal and produce at least two received signals, wherein the receiver suppresses interference by applying an interference suppression technique that includes minimum mean square error combining when combining the at least two received signals, the instructions causing the transmitter to perform steps comprising:

receiving a signal from the receiver indicating a selection of one of the at least two transmission channels based on channel performance at the receiver for each of the at least two transmission channels, wherein the channel performance is based on a combining technique that includes switched diversity combining and that is different from the interference suppression technique; and

communicating with the receiver using the selected one of the at least two transmission channels.